NASCAR Heats Up This Weekend

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EA's sponsored event pits racing winners.

By IGN Staff

Electronic Arts today reminded that this weekend the EA Sports 500 Race at Talladega Superspeedway will take place, and among it the top NASCAR drivers will stake their reputations in their cars and on their PS2s.

A multitude of other weekend activities are planned, such as head-to-head races between top drivers of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman will vie on EA's NASCAR Thunder 2004 in the third Annual EA SPORTS Drivers Challenge on Friday night. While on Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr., last year's EA SPORTS 500 race winner, will trade paint with an EA SPORTS NASCAR Thunder 2004 video game fan. The EA SPORTS 500 race will be telecast on NBC Sunday, September 28 at 12:30 p.m. EST.

"I've been playing NASCAR Thunder 2004 a lot, knowing the other guys are going to be coming after me in this year's race and I want to defend my title," said Ryan Newman, last year's Driver's Challenge Champion and 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of The Year.

"It's an amazing opportunity for us to bring true NASCAR racing to the fans through NASCAR Thunder 2004 at the Fan Challenge, to the drivers Friday night at the Drivers' Challenge and to the rest of America through NBC's Sunday broadcast of the EA SPORTS 500 race," said Chip Lange, Vice President of marketing at EA. "The EA SPORTS 500 is a pure fit for EA, which has built its EA SPORTS reputation around competition, authenticity, and excitement; and NASCAR racing doesn't get more competitive, authentic, or exciting than it does at Talladega."